WAND-TV is expected to flip to NBC,leaving Sinclair's WICS-TV to go with ABC

March 4, 2004H&R

Television stations WAND and WICS are expected to switch affiliations next year. Decatur's WAND, currently an ABC affiliate, will become an NBC station, probably late in 2005, and Springfield's WICS will move from NBC to ABC.

Employees were told of the changes Wednesday but declined comment and were uncertain about details.

Papers filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the owner of Springfield's WICS, indicated NBC is dropping WICS as an affiliate and pursuing a relationship with WAND.

"I can't say any more than that right now," WAND General Manager T.J. Vaughan said after reading portions of the report.

WICS General Manager Jack Connors had no comment on the an nouncement.

Sinclair's annual report to the SEC included the following statement:

"The NBC affiliation agreements with WICS/WICD (Champaign/ Spring field, Illinois) and WKEF-TV (Dayton, Ohio) are scheduled to expire on April 1, 2004. NBC recently informed us that they intend to terminate our affiliations in Dayton and Champaign/Springfield effective on or about September 2004 and September 2005, respectively, in order to affiliate with another station in each of those markets.

"We are currently engaged in discussions with the ABC Television Network regarding affiliating with ABC in those two markets since the stations, which are scheduled to acquire the NBC affiliations in Dayton and Champaign/Springfield, are currently ABC affiliates and will be giving up that affiliation in order to become NBC affiliates."